This quiet region of densely forested hills, small streams and rivers and rocky outcrops is very beautiful and well worth exploring – Neuwiller-les-Saverne is to the south-west of the park and Lembach to the north-east. To the south of the region lies the city of Mulhouse and the rural land of the Sundgau, which reaches the Swiss border in the Jura mountains. The Alsace region is located in north-eastern France and is famous for its wine, its colourful half-timbered houses and its castles, which sit enthroned on the summits of the Vosges mountains. Colmar is the principal centre of the wine-growing region, whose vineyards extend in a narrow strip along the lower slopes of the Vosges west of the city. The massif of the Vosges gradually gives way eastward to the plain of Alsace, while to the south the region of Sundgau in southern Haut-Rhin rises to the Jura Mountains.
Both Alsatian and Standard German were for a time banned from public life (including street and city names, official administration, and educational system). However, in a Decree of 18 December 1952, supplemented by an Order of 19 December of the same year, optional teaching of the German language was introduced in elementary schools in communes in which the language of habitual use was the Alsatian dialect. After World War II, the French government pursued, in line with its traditional language policy, a campaign to suppress the use of German as part of a wider Francization campaign. The population was forced to speak German and 'French' family names were Germanized. During a reannexation by Germany (1940–1945), High German was reinstated as the language of education.
The Route des Crêtes of the Vosges
Symbolically, the Route des Crêtes marks the border between Lorraine and Alsace, between the Romance and Germanic language worlds. Throughout its course, it is sometimes in Lorraine and sometimes in Alsace. Many town names have become synonymous with rich traditions, friendliness, prosperity and great wines. Several cities and villages along the Alsace Wine Route have become famous and attract a very large crowd of visitors during the summer months and Christmas, where they have beautiful Christmas Markets.
Alsace’s main cities
Following the Protestant Reformation, promoted by slotrize casino no deposit bonus the local reformer Martin Bucer, the principle of cuius regio, eius religio led to a certain amount of religious diversity in the highlands of northern Alsace. The divergence in policy from the French majority is because the region was part of Imperial Germany when the 1905 law separating the French church and state was instituted (for a more comprehensive history, see Alsace–Lorraine). Alsace is generally seen as the most religious of all the French regions. But by the 2010s, Alsace had entered a new period of slow demographic growth, though the Strasbourg area had become one of France's fastest growing regions.
City break
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- Being the smallest administrative region of continental France, Alsace stretches from south to north along the Rhine, which borders its eastern flank.
- By 4000 BC, farming arrived in the form of Linear Pottery culture in the region from the Danube and the Hungarian plain.
- Mulhouse (a city in southern Alsace), which had been part of Switzerland since 1466, joined France in 1798.
- However, attendance at Protestant and Catholic services is reflected by the number of churches still open and which can still be visited throughout the region.
- This situation has spurred a movement to preserve the Alsatian language, which is perceived as endangered, a situation paralleled in other régions of France, such as Brittany or Occitania.
French Moments is about promoting the French culture and language through its website and social network. These gems of the wine country are often made up of old medieval ramparts, winding alleyways that bloom with magnificent geraniums, winstubs, vaults, half-timbered houses, and medieval churches. Several cities and villages along the Alsace Wine Route have since become famous and attract a very large crowd of visitors during the summer months and Christmas. It was greatly restored between 1901 to 1908 under the orders of Kaiser William II, a great admirer of medieval romanticism.
Struggle between France and united Germany
The Alsace region’s touristic appeal is closely linked to its rich history. The Alsace region is also known for the richness of its gastronomy. The Alsace vineyards extend across the hills of the Vosges at between 200 and 400 metres high, over some 14,000 hectares of grapevines which produce an average of 150 million bottles of wine.
Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner, Auxerrois, and Pinot Blanc are among the notable white wines produced. Natural boundaries in Alsace include the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River to the east. Switzerland lies to the south of Alsace, and Germany borders it to the east and north. Alsace, historical region and former région of France, incorporated since January 2016 into the région of Grand Est. Share your best experiences in Alsace with #visitalsace
- The culture was characterized by “timber longhouse settlements and incised pottery … favoring floodplain edge situations for their permanent villages … and small clearings in the forest” for their crops and animals.”
- Many town names have become synonymous with rich traditions, friendliness, prosperity and great wines.
- Cultural life was, in part, suppressed by linguistic pressure from French authorities confronted by regional culture.
- See details of the Alsace Wine Route that visits many of the most popular vineyards and villages
- More than 500 are situated here, mostly distributed from north to south, in the foothills of the Vosges.
High population growth during the post-WW2 economic boom of the Trente Glorieuses ended after the 1973 oil crisis. The city of Colmar has a sunny microclimate; it is the second driest city in France, with an annual precipitation of around 550 mm (22 in), making it ideal for vin d'Alsace (Alsatian wine). It doesn't rain much in the area because of the protection offered by the Vosges mountains. Alsace is the part of the plain of the Rhine located at the west of the Rhine, on its left bank.
To appreciate the natural environment you can explore the Regional Natural Park of the Ballon des Vosges which occupies much of the western Haut-Rhin. The most important religious monuments in Haut-Rhin include the romanesque abbey at Murbach and the 11th century abbey church at Ottmarsheim. There are also numerous picturesque villages, among them some that are also classified among the 'most beautiful villages of France' (Eguisheim, Hunawihr and Riquewihr). The larger towns in southern Alsace include Colmar, with an impressive historical centre, and Mulhouse, well known for its important museums.
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